Colt coral
Genus Cladiella
Colt coral is one of my favorite corals. It is fast,
easy to grow and pretty hardy. This coral is also a
coral that has been in the hobby for a while. All of
GARF's colt coral came from a schoolteacher in a
nearby town. Every couple of months he would send us
several huge pieces of his coral.

We have many different stories for origins of coral
here at GARF. There is a kind of unique Pavona, the
only one of its kind that Leroy has ever seen, that
was picked up on the beach growing on a dolphin's
jawbone. However, this colt coral story is one of my
favorites. It represents the ultimate goals of coral
aquaculture: propagation of corals that are twice
removed from the wild ocean, and hobbyists who are
willing to work together and trade corals.

Unfortunately, colt coral has proven to be a fairly
difficult corals to propagate. With many soft corals,
all you have to do is cut several pieces off, put them
over a gravel bed and in no time you'll have many soft
corals ready to glue to plugs. Colt coral pieces have
a much harder time attaching themselves. They'll
drift around in an aquarium and eventually get sucked
up by a powerhead and shredded into tiny bits.

Other conventional propagation techniques don't work
either. Colt coral is too slimy to glue down, and it
can't be sewed on to a plug. Even the tried-and-true
bridal veil netting method doesn't always work for
these corals.

However, after several months of research, I have
found a pretty foolproof way to grow colt coral.

Materials:
Plastic sword
Plugs with a hole
SallyJo's Reef Gel

After the coral has grown pretty big, take a sharp
pair of scissors and cut it into many pieces. Each
piece should be about the width of a nickel, and an
inch high. If you have a colt coral that is thick,
be sure that there is a section of the outer skin,
which contains polyps, on the piece.
Before you cut the colt coral, ready some plugs. At
Garf, we make special plugs that have holes drilled in
them.

Take a plastic sword, and use reef glue to glue the
blunt end inside the hole so the sharp end is sticking
straight up. I use the swords that are used to spear
sandwiches or as toothpicks in restaurants. Other
sharp plastic objects could be used, such as
toothpicks; however most toothpicks are made of wood
and are not suitable.

At this point, I must give a huge thanks to my mother.
She has driven down to the restaurant supply store
and bought these swords for my experiments many times,
without asking why I needed hundreds of tiny plastic
weapons.

I would never have had the time to go down
to the supply store myself, so without my mother this
new colt coral propagation technique would not exist.
Leave the swords and the plugs in a container of water
for a couple of hours. This will ensure that the
sword is stuck firm.

Now, take the pieces of coral and stake them onto the
swords. Push each piece all the way down, so it is in
contact with the base of the plug. Then, place a dab
of glue where the top of the colt coral touches the
sword. This glue will harden on the plastic of the
sword, and prevent the colt coral from floating up off
the sword.

Cut the top of the sword off for aesthetic reasons.
That's the entire process! The finished colt coral
plugs should be initially put in a place of the tank
with pretty low current.

After a couple of weeks they
will be established enough to withstand higher
current, although colt corals generally prefer medium
light and low current.

In a couple of months your colt coral plug will be
ready to be cut again, producing more of these
beautiful animals!

REMEMBER - SAVE A REEF - GROW YOUR OWN

FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS WE HAVE WORKED VERY HARD TO PURCHASE, TRADE, AND SAVE AS MANY TYPES OF CORALS AS WE CAN.

We are having a special on all of the coral cuttings. WHEN YOU PURCHASE 5 AT THE REGULAR PRICE OF $100 WE WILL GIVE YOU TWO FREE CORALS!.
We will continue to provide the most current data on reef farming for both education and profit.

For us to fill your order, please enter your name, E-mail and phone numbers and we will call you to take down the size of your aquarium so we can help you order the proper mixture of reef janitors and Garf Grunge. We will ask for your mailing address and payment information. Thank you!! Alternatively, you may also print out and either mail or fax your order to 208-344-6189

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Use this site to solve your reef aquarium algae problems, and help support our research!!!

Many of the rare corals are offered to our members for 2 years before they are put on sale. We will soon have an E-mail list that will list the rarest color forms of sps corals and soft corals such as Xenia and Mushrooms.

Hello Leroy,
I just had to write you to thank you for everything that you and your staff have done to help me create such a beautiful reef tank. Let me start by saying that I would never have done business with any internet company in the past. I am very careful about how my money is spent. YOUR BEAUTIFUL PICTURES ON THE WEB SITE CONVINCED ME TO GIVE YOU A TRY. BOY AM I GLAD I DID!

I started out by purchasing some garf grunge and reef janitors. The janitors have completely cleaned my tank and are busy working every day. I had an algae bloom that I could not control, and now, in only a few weeks, it is not only gone, but the tank is spotless!

The grunge is the most beautiful substrate I have ever seen! I have found numerous little corals and sponges growing in my tank, and I am experiencing a coraline algae bloom much faster than thought possible. Also, every experienced reef keeper that has seen my tank wants to know what the heck is that? Being used to seeing plain sand or crushed coral, they are delighted and mystified by the beauty! It has also added a level of stability and overall health to my tank that is amazing!

Next, as you know, I have ordered a few shipments of corals from you. I can't believe how fast they grow, and how beautiful they are! This is of course in addition to the rare species that you offer. Never in a million years could I have found the rare and different corals you have sent me. The pet shop, or reef "experts" would never have most of these beautiful rarities!

As a matter of fact, my local coral supplier has seen my tank and he cannot believe his eyes! He has told me that with over thirty years in the reef aquarium business, never has he seen such a beautiful tank! The "show" tank in his store is very pale by comparison!

I have told him that thanks to some real professionals in Idaho, this type of tank could be a reality for anyone! I am sure he will order from you soon, as he is most jealous of my aquarium, and has to have some for his own!

I will send you some pictures very soon. I am sure that you will agree, this is truly a beautiful, healthy, thriving, 90 gallon reef aquarium. I owe most of it to you and your staff!

From grunge, janitors, magic reef dust, and your help in recommending food and additives, everything I followed from what you have suggested has helped my tank achieve more goals than I ever expected! THANKS AGAIN FOR EVERYTHING!
I CANNOT WAIT TO RECEIVE MY NEXT ORDER, VERY SOON!